Everything is Data, on Repeat

I Went to Chicago to Cover a Conference. I Came Home Rethinking My Entire Business.

Before my first national cannabis conference, I thought I knew what success looked like.

I imagined documenting every panel, interviewing everyone I met, attending every networking event, and publishing content in real time. My camera was ready. My media kit was printed. I had pages of notes and a long list of people I hoped to meet.

By those standards, I failed.

I didn't document everything.

I missed sessions I wanted to attend. I didn't make every after-party. There are conversations I wish I'd recorded and photos I wish I'd taken.

For a few days after returning home, I couldn't stop thinking about everything I didn't accomplish.

Then I realized I was measuring the wrong thing.

Presence Was More Valuable Than Content

When you're trying to build a media company, it's easy to believe every moment needs to become content.

But some moments are more valuable when they're simply experienced.

The best conversations I had in Chicago weren't scheduled interviews. They happened while walking between events, over coffee, in hotel lobbies, and during introductions that turned into genuine discussions about the future of cannabis.

If I had been focused on filming every second, I would have missed many of those moments entirely.

Conference Coverage Isn't the Business

One of the biggest realizations I had after returning home was that I don't want to spend my career chasing conference after conference.

Conferences are important.

They create opportunities to learn, build relationships, and understand where an industry is headed.

But they aren't the product.

They're the source material.

The real work begins when I get home.

That's where ideas become articles.

Conversations become interviews.

Questions become research.

Experiences become stories that continue long after the booths have been packed away.

Building Something That Lasts

Chicago also forced me to ask a difficult question:

What am I actually building?

For months, I had been thinking primarily about social media—what to post, when to post it, how often to post it, and whether an algorithm would even show it to people.

That mindset wasn't sustainable.

Instead, I'm building an editorial platform.

A place where articles, interviews, podcasts, and commentary live together. A place I own. A place that doesn't disappear because an algorithm changes.

Social media still matters, but its job is different now.

Its purpose is to introduce people to the work—not replace it.

A Different Definition of Success

Success isn't documenting every second.

It's creating something worth revisiting.

It's publishing thoughtful stories instead of chasing constant uploads.

It's building relationships that continue after the conference ends.

And it's creating a body of work that grows over time.

That's the direction ZaZa Media Co is taking.

Less pressure to capture everything.

More intention behind what gets published.

More journalism.

More commentary.

More conversations.

More substance.

Chicago didn't just give me content.

It gave me a clearer vision of the company I want to build.

Everything is data—I’m learning, unlearning, and relearning on repeat.